Committee issues Football Governance inquiry call for evidence

• Guidance on submitting written evidence
• Committee launches Football Governance inquiry

A copy of your submission should either be emailed to cmsev@parliament.uk with ‘Football Governance’ in the subject line or posted to Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Committee Office, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London, SW1P 3JA.

Football Governance inquiry YouTube film transcript

Transcript begins.

"Hello, my name is John Whittingdale.

I am Chairman of the House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee,

a Committee of 11 MPs from different parties , and our job is to monitor - and conduct inquiries related to  - the work of the Government Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

I want to tell you about a new inquiry our Committee has launched into the governance of professional football clubs, and explain why we want your input.

We felt it was important to investigate football governance.  We have seen a lot of media coverage of the ownership of large clubs, like Liverpool and Manchester United. But we also want to consider broader concerns, especially that current and future generations of football supporters - of clubs, large and small across the country - are not being served well by current football regulations.

In some other countries, supporters play a much greater part in the running of Clubs. The Coalition Government here has pledged to encourage the reform of football governance rules to support the co-operative ownership of football clubs by supporters.  At the end of our inquiry, we intend to come up with recommendations to help the Government achieve this aim.

We know that football rouses strong passions, delivers real economic and social benefits and plays an important part in the lives of many people.

We will obviously be talking to many of those professionally involved in the management and running of clubs. But we also want to hear from the fans who equally care passionately about how football is run in this country.

We come to this inquiry with an open mind and promise to assess, on their merits, the strengths and weaknesses of our current football governance model, and the alternatives. 
 
In particular, some of the questions that we want you to consider include:

• Should football clubs in the UK be treated differently from other commercial organisations?
• Are football governance rules in England and Wales, and the governing bodies which set and apply them, fit for purpose?
• Is there too much debt in the professional game?
• What are the pros and cons of the Supporter Trust share-holding model?
• Is Government intervention justified and, if so, what form should it take?
• Are there lessons to be learned from football governance models across the UK and abroad, and from governance models in other sports?

We want to hear from a wide range of people and organisations, so if you would like to contribute, please send us your written submissions by 26 January.  You can find details of where to send your submissions, by email or in writing, at the end of this film.

Football is part of the fabric of British life.  I hope you can help us better understand the key football governance issues and shape the recommendations we’ll make to the Government"

Transcript ends.